In the current Government and Binding framework, every sentence must have a subject. When the matrix subject position is non-thematic, it is filled by an expletive. Japanese, however, lacks an overt expletive. This raises the question of whether the language has an expletive which is null, or raises an embedded subject to the matrix subject…

This paper investigates the referential constraints on possible overt experiencer phrases as compared to those on implied experiencers with the omission of the experiencer phrase. The inherent meanings of psych-movement verbals as well as tense and complementizer type are argued to be relevant factors in the statement of those constraints.…

Analyzes the circumstrances in which a German verb complex in a sentence can be separated by inserting various syntactic elements. Examples are provided. (Text is in German.) (DS)

A list enumerating the basic rules for the use of the subjunctive in Spanish is provided. (Text is in Spanish.) (DS)

The grammatical subject of sentences in English is regularly but not invariably perceived as the sentence topic. Attempts to express this regularity as a rule of grammar are frustrated by the numerous cases in which there is no topic or some other referring expression is the topic. An alternative account is one in which sentence topic is inferred…

Five types of Verb Phrase (VP) anaphors which appear to exist in free variation actually have specific grammatical, semantic, and rhetorical functions which account for the existence of some to the exclusion of others in certain syntactic environments. The five anaphors are: "do so,""do it," Verb Phrase Deletion (VPD), VPD with…

Forty eight undergraduates were assigned to two groups of 24 subjects each. The high association (HA) group was given booklets that contained a series of nouns associatively related according to free association norms, one pair to a page; the low association (LA) group was given booklets containing pairs of associatively unrelated nouns. The…

Study investigated the processing of ambiguous words that varied in frequency of use of their multiple interpretations. Results indicate that, whereas lexical access is an autonomous process, selection of the appropriate interpretation is a post-lexical process that is influenced by frequency information and context. (MM)

This article focuses on the structural and semantic analysis of the sentences containing the pronoun "it" as a formal object. Although at first sight "it" seems to have no meaning whatsoever, it actually plays an important role in the semantic structure of the sentence. The formal object "it" changes the…

A descriptive model is proposed for the study of the communication interactions between a child and the language users around him, based upon a means to record and analyze the adult demands placed upon the child. (Author)

A playful discussion of the subordinate function of the relative pronoun. (RD)

Presents a functional description of punctuation as a delimiter of words, sentences, and paragraphs, and as a semantic and extralinguistic indicator. (AM)

A defense of the passive voice against charges that it is wordy, obscure, and ineffective. (DD)